Holy fire!

Since 2017 marks their 25th anniversary, Dutch death metal veterans Countess have recorded a brand new version of the classic title track from their 2004 Dutch-language album Heilig Vuur (‘Holy Fire’). With a few arrangement tweaks and improved production, the new single sees the song reach its full potential!

In appreciation of the fans who have supported the band over the last quarter of a century, Countess have decided to make this new single available as a free download via their official Bandcamp site.

An official video for the new version of “Heilig Vuur” has also been released on the band’s YouTube channel:

Among the first Dutch black metal bands to emerge in the early nineties, Countess have always set themselves apart from other bands with a fierce loyalty to their old school influences. For two and a half decades – while fashions came and went – Countess stayed true to their vision and thus earned a worldwide cult status in the metal underground.

In spite of their sworn allegiance to metal orthodoxy, Countess have never shied from innovation. In 1994, they created the first black metal song with Dutch lyrics (“Bloed In De Sneeuw”) and in 1997 were among the first bands to bring a rockin’ approach to the genre (“Hell’s Rock & Roll”).

Over the course of 25 years and 15 full-length albums, Countess’ sound has evolved from the raw black metal of the early releases towards a more traditional heavy metal-influenced style. The band’s most recent offering, Fires Of Destiny in 2016, being a powerful example of a seamless integration of heavy and black metal elements.

In 2014, the band returned to the stage after a long period of not having played live. Since then, Countess have performed impressive shows at numerous prestigious metal festivals in their own country, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Finland.

The core of Countess consists of long-time members Orlok (vocals, bass) and Zagan (guitars), who both have been involved with the project since the nineties. They were recently joined by Mortüüm (drums, 2015) and Häxa (keyboards, 2016) to complete what is probably the band’s strongest formation to date.

I love Heavy Metal. Always have. Always will. As editor of Worship Metal - a site dedicated to being as positive about Metal and its myriad of sub-genres as possible - my aim is to 'worship' Metal through honest reviews, current news and a wide variety of features; offering the same exposure to underground bands as we do to mainstream/well known acts. Our mantra; the bands are partners and we exist to serve the bands \m/